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Willing Humility
According to The Wall Street Journal, there’s a new fad among top-level executives. It’s called humility. One former leader states that humility “is the flavor du jour.” Companies prize humble leaders because they listen well and share the limelight. Of course, the leaders have to actually be humble. Fakers abound, like a former executive who constantly stole the limelight from subordinates. According to one observer, “He didn’t understand the humility part of being humble.”
Justice and Mercy
In the wake of the devastating earthquake that destroyed much of Haiti in 2010, one philosopher wrote, “For those who believe in an all-good, all-powerful God, we’ve seen that they face a question that remains pressing after all these centuries, and which is now horribly underscored by the horrors in Haiti. If a deity exists, why didn’t he prevent this?”
Constant Kindness
When I was a child I was an ardent reader of L. Frank Baum’s Land of Oz books. I recently came across Rinkitink in Oz with all the original artwork. I laughed again at the antics of Baum’s portly, irrepressible, good-hearted King Rinkitink with his down-to-earth goodness. Young Prince Inga described him best: “His heart is kind and gentle and that is far better than being wise.”
How simple and how sensible! Yet who has not jarred the heart of someone dear to us by a harsh word? In so doing we disturb the peace and quiet of the hour and…
Humbly accepting the “tension of mystery”
Being finite beings, we’re limited in how much we can understand. And that’s why some Bible passages really challenge us. Today on Discover the Word, the team will discuss 1 Peter 3:18–20 where Peter talks about Christ’s spirit “preaching to the spirits in prison.” It’s another one of those strange texts that remind us that sometimes […]
"By the Grace of God I Am What I Am"
The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him.
God can use conflict to develop peace in our hearts
Sometimes, the circumstances we face in life are simply out of our control. So how can we maintain a sense of peace when things don’t go the way we planned? Today on Discover the Word, the group and author Patricia Raybon discuss the peace Patricia found when she stopped trying so hard to change her […]
The Undetected Sacredness of Circumstances
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . . —Romans 8:28
The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by …
The Gentle Way
A friend once wrote a letter to both bless me and draw me deeper into an honest, true life. My friend quoted lines from the novelist James Kavanaugh: “There are men,” Kavanaugh wrote, “who are too gentle to live among wolves.” My friend invited me, amid a violent and self-protective world, to live with a gentle posture, to refuse to grow hard or defensive. The letter contains words that are among the most powerful a friend has ever shared with me.
Next Steps
Jesus told the story of a young man who asked his father for his future inheritance and then bolted. For a while, life was good. He indulged his desires. Booze. Women. Parties. Jesus said that this young man “wasted all of his money in wild living” (Luke 15:13). But when his wealth vanished, so did his friends. His story illustrates Proverbs 22:3: “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”
I’m No Superwoman and It’s Perfectly Okay
In English novelist Jane Austen’s classic, Pride and Prejudice, there is a particular discussion on the attributes of an “accomplished woman”.
When Serving Brought Out the Worst in Me
Growing up in church, I was actively involved in church activities at a young age. As a youth, I served as a Sunday school teacher as well as a musician in the worship team. From a young age, I knew that God had blessed me with gifts so that I could bless others.
Good Medicine
Careless driving, rising tempers, and use of foul language among some taxi and minibus drivers are a constant source of traffic fights in our city of Accra, Ghana. But one traffic incident I witnessed took a different turn. A bus was almost hit by a careless taxi driver. I expected the bus driver to get angry and yell at the taxi driver, but he didn’t. Instead, the bus driver relaxed his stern face and smiled broadly at the guilty-looking taxi driver. And the smile worked wonders. With a raised hand, the taxi driver apologized, smiled back, and moved away, the…
Climb On!
George Mallory was an English mountaineer who was last seen heading toward the summit of Mount Everest in June 1924. It’s possible he actually reached its peak but succumbed to the weather on the way down. We’ll never know what happened, for the details passed with the great explorer. Mallory was once asked why he wanted to climb Everest. His answer was simply, “Because it’s there!” This may make no sense to most people, but to a mountaineer it is perfectly logical. Climbing the mountain is something to strive toward that’s an end in itself. The impressive peak is all…
“Miracle in reverse”
Author and seminary professor Darrell Bock says that all the accounts of the miracles of Jesus recorded in the New Testament start with the miracle and end with the audience’s reaction to it, all except one. Today on Discover the Word, the group and guest Darrell Bock discover the significance of this “miracle in reverse.” Tune […]
The Divine Commandment of Life
. . . be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect —Matthew 5:48
Our Lord’s exhortation to us in Matthew 5:38-48 is to be generous in our behavior toward everyone. Beware of living according to your natural affections in your …
